Valentyna Martyniuk (left) and Serhii Melnyk, tourists from Poland, interact with hedgehogs in CAVE, the city's first hedgehog themed cafe; a hedgehog at CAVE. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

However, as hedgehogs need rest and cleanup of their droppings, Han and Jiang had set a time limit of 20 minutes with a 20 yuan ($2.82) charge to ensure the hedgehogs are not exposed to too much human contact.

"Having hedgehogs in the store is just a thing that makes us different from other cafes. We still focus on making good coffee, not as a pet place," Han said. This is why they keep all the hedgehogs in a separate staff-only room and only take one or two out upon customers' requests.

"I think hedgehogs are a very good idea. It's nice, very original and interesting," said Serhii Melnyk, a tourist from Poland who stopped by the cafe to grab an Americano and was attracted to the animal. He added that he had come across some wild hedgehogs in Poland, but he never had such a close encounter with the animal.